Familial Patterns of Intolerance of Uncertainty: Preliminary Evidence in Female University Students

The overlap between parent and child psychological distress might be attributed to the intergenerational transmission of intolerance of uncertainty (IU). The current study explored the association between parental and child IU in female university students. Female undergraduates (N = 234) and their parents completed questionnaires assessing IU and psychological distress. First, we tested whether living status (on one’s own vs. with one or both parents) and IU predict psychological distress in undergraduates. Second, we performed between-group comparisons on IU and psychological distress measures. Third, we explored whether the path from parent to child IU is differentially mediated by child psychological distress depending on parental gender. Only IU predicted psychological distress of undergraduates. Daughters reported levels of IU and psychological distress comparable with mothers, but higher than fathers; mothers and fathers did not differ in IU, whereas the former were more psychol...